Air-supported building structure



June 22, 1965 A. M. MOODY AIR-SUPPORTED BUILDING STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1, 1963 INVENTOR. QLLEN M. MOODY w v a June 22, 1965 A. M. MOODY AIR-SUPPORTED BUILDING STRUCTURE 3 Sheata-Shaet 2 Filed March 1. 1963 INVENTOR. HLLEN M. MOODY June 22, 1965 A. M. MOODY I 3,190,299

AIR-SUPPORTED BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed March 1, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. flLLEN M. MOODY United States Patent 3,1963% AllkUFPSRTED EUELDENG STRUCTURE Ailen M. Moody, Framingham, Mesa, assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Mar. 1, 1963, Ser. No. 262,275 2 (Jlaims. (U. 135-4.) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to inflatable building structures and more particularly to an air-erected and supported building structure which is strikable substantially instantaneously and which is readily reassembled and erected.

Inflatable building structures comprising a substantially airtight envelope or tent erected and supported by maintaining the air in the envelope under a pressure somewhat greater than atmospheric have been increasingly utilized because of their many advantages, such as relative ease of erection and striking, the freedom of the interior thereof from obstructions so that a large storage space is provided, and the ready adaptability of these structures to manufacture in the various sizes and shapes required for various housing or storage needs. This has led to the use of these structures by the Armed Forces for various purposes, including recent use to house various kinds of missiles. When used for this purpose, it is desirable that the housing structure be quickly strikable so that the housed missile or missiles may be made operational in a minimum time. It is also desirable that the struck inflatable structure be capable of quick assembly and erection with the missile in position since this procedure is frequently followed in training.

Quick strikability of the inflatable structure of the present invention is achieved by the release and separation of a slide fastener extending the length of the structure and dividing it into substantially duplicate sections. At a signal, the quick release slide fastener is disengaged near its midpoint and the separation is propagated in opposite directions along the length of the fastener by the force exerted outwardly against the walls by the air pressure within resulting in an almost instantaneous separation and collapse.

Difliculty has been experienced in assembling and erecting the structure both initially and subsequent to striking because of the presence of the missile. The separable fastener extends to a line that will bring it over the missile and in the preferred example the fastener lies above and along the longitudinal axis of the missile. It is not pos sible to walk on the missile to close the fastener because of the possibility of damaging the missile. The use of catwalks and scaffolding is ruled out for safety reasons and also because of the difiiculty in removing such materials from the assembled structure. In addition, it is necessary to avoid any undue strain in closing the fastener since any tugging or pulling is likely to damage the fastener impairing its ready separability and making the structure unusable until the fastener has been replaced in its entirety.

The envelope according to the present invention is further separable along two lines that are substantially parallel to and spaced from the quick release fastener on either side thereof forming two central panels. These panels are removable from the remainder of the inflatable structure and can be placed side by side on the ground or launch site. In this manner, they may be easily joined together by means of the quick release slide fastener. After the slide fastener has been closed, the panels are wound about a roller that is supported by a pair of upright arms and carried to one end of the structure to which the free end of the joined panels is attached. Two men walking along either side of the missile holding the roller overhead by means of the upright arms unroll the joined panels over and along the missile. Either concurrent with or subsequent to the unrolling operation, the free edges of the panels extending downwardly on either side of the missile are fastened to the edges of the corresponding side walls of the deflated structure. Preferably, the central panels are sized to extend down to a height that can be conveniently reached by a man standing on the floor of the structure. This method is both simple and rapid and eliminates the need for hazardous operations or operations likely to damage either the missile or the quick release slide fastener. in the event that the quick release fastener is somehow damaged and made inoperative, it is a simple matter to replace the two central panels with another pair of panels having an operable quick release slide fastener.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a new and improved air-erected and supported flexible building structure which is substantially instantaneously strikable and falls clear of the ground area normally covered thereby in automatic response to the instantaneous striking of the structure and which can be quickly and easily reassembled and erected.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved air-erected and supported flexible building structure comprising a plurality of sections, two of which are connected together by separable fasteners of the quick release type to permit substantially instantaneous separations of the two sections from each other.

Yet another object is to provide a new and improved air-erected and supported flexible building structure which is substantially instantaneously strikable as a result of the quick separation of a slide fastener and which slide fastener can be quickly and easily replaced when damaged.

A still further object is to provide a new and improved air-erected and supported building structure which is formed of two flexible sections joined by separable fasteners along a line coinciding with the ridge line of the structure so that the structure may be struck by separating the sections along the ridge line.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved building structure of separable sections erected and supported by maintaining the air therein under a pressure slightly in excess of atmospheric which is designed to utilize the force exerted along the line of separation between adjacent sections by the escape of pressurized air from the structure, once separation commences, to produce a quick separation of the sections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved air-erected and supported flexible building structure that is substantially instantaneously strikable along the ridge line of the structure and capable of rapid reassembly and erection about a housed object without the use of scaffolding and without walking over the housed object.

A mor specific object of the invention is to provide a new and improved air-erected and supported flexible building structure which is formed of two flexible sections joined by separable fasteners along the ridge line of the structure, each of the flexible sections being formed of a lower side wall and an upper panel that are releasably connected on a line spaced from the ridge line of the structure.

A more general object of the invention is to provide a new and improved air-erected and supported flexible building structure which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction, easily and quickly erectable and strikable which provides a maximum of covered storage space,

and which is relatively light in weight, and easily foldable into a compact package when dismantled so as to facilitate handling, storage, or transportation thereof in that condition. 7

These and other objects and advantagesand capabilities of the invention will become apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan View ofthe air inflatedbuilding structure of the present invention; 7

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation-a1 view thereof;

- FIGURE 3 is a rear elevational view of the building structure shown in FIGURE 1 after it has been struck and partially collapsed; I FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the detachable panels of the building structure partially fastened together;

' FIGURE 5 is a plan view partially in section showing a roller assembly that is used to place the detachable panels over the missile;

' FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing the release initiating portion of the separable quick release fasteners that join the two detachable panels together;

= FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4 The'two complementary sections 23 and 24 as seen in FIGURES 1 and 2 are releasably secured together by a separable fastener 30 of the conventional zipper type. To

' promote the desired separation of the two sections 23 and :24, the fastener should be of the quick release, completely separable type which is readily available on the market. In more detail, as seen in FIGURE 4, the quick release fastener 30 comprises complementary left and right hand stringers 31 and 32, each including the usual fabric tape. The tapes 33 of the complementary stringers, shown in FIGURE 6, are connected along one edge thereof to the opposed or complementary edges of the two half sections 23 and 24 by cementing el -stitching. Metallic fastener elements or scoops 34 are securedalong the free edges of the tapes in a conventional manner. Scoops 34 of the left and right hand stringers are interlocked by a manually operated slider 35 whichis drawn along the stringers. Quick releaseofthe 'twoihalf sections of the inflated building structure results from the rapid separation or 77 of FIGURE 4 through a mechanism for quickly releasing the release initiating portion of the quick release separable fasteners;

housed missile and being attached to the side walls of the improved building structure of the present invention, As seen in FIGURE 1, the inflated building structure of the present invention comprises an elongated substandisengagement of the interlocked scoops. This disengage- =1'nent occurs initially at the midpoint of the slide fastener and is propagated in opposite directions toward the ends of the inflated building structure. The area-ofinitial disengagement or they starting ends of the slidefastener 30- is .shown in detail in-FIGU'RE 6 wherein the interlocking portions of four consecutivescoops on the right hand stringer. have been ground off. Any'force tending to urge the two stringer-s apart will cause the scoops to consecutivelydisengage starting at any point where the scoops are notvinterlocked and'proceeding -in either direction along the fastener until all the scoops lare disengaged or tially airtight fabric envelope 20 of semi-cyl-indrical-transverse section and having spherically rounded ends 21 and 22. The envelope 20 is divided along its longitudinal center line, or ridge line, by a quick release fastener 30'' forming a pair of complementary sections 23 and 24. Each of these sections 23 and 24 is divided into 'a lower side wall 25 and 26 respectively, and an upper panel 28' f :andl27, respectively. The upper panel is releasably attached to the lower side wall by .a slide fasteneralong a line spaced from the longitudinal center line of the compartment. The lower side walls and the upper panels have the force urging them apart isexpended.

'7 The pressure within the air inflated building structure exerts sufficient force outwardly against the flexible wall as to cause the fastener '30 to separate It is necessary, therefore, in order to prevent this separation to secure the complementary stringers 3l and932 togetherin that area shown in FIGURE 6 having the non-interlocked scoops.

. A mechanism designated generally by the numeral 40 in FIGURES 1 and 4 and shown in detail in FIGURE 7 comprises a pair of elongated connecting .members 41 generally parallel edges throughout the major portion of their length'but taper to a declining width thereof asseen in FIGURES .1 and 2.

Referring/to FIGURES '2' and 3, there". are shown at both ends ground anchoring strips or girdles 29 of fabric material which are secured on the outwardly facing side of each lower side wall 25 and 26 adjacent their. lowermost edge.

7 The lowermost extensions of the scalloped girdles which extend around the periphery of the envelope are anchored to the ground by any suitable ground anchoring means (not shown) e.g., a hook embeddedin the ground connected to a ring located in the girdle extension and there-. by serveto anchor the inflatedfabric envelope 20. I

; Also depending fronrthe lowermost edge of each of thev and 42 of spring steel having channel shaped intermediate portions 43 and 44, respectively; from which extensions or wingsproject laterally. in opposite directions, those on intermediate part'43 being numbered 45 and 46 and those on intermediate part 44 being numbered 47 and 48.

'The lateral extensions or wings normally lie in planes inclined from orbowed outwardly of the planes of the intermediate portions 43 and 44 when in a relaxed condition Rigid Uj-shaped channelmembers 50 and 51 are fixedly secured to the intermediate portions 43' and 44 side wall sections 25 and 26 is a ground, sealing skirt (not shown) These skirts are wide enough to be tucked inwardly ofthe bottom edge of the building structure whenerected. The sealing skirt being made of flexiblemateriali conforms to the contour of the ground. When the strucas by riveting. Elongated connecting member 41 has 'cone shaped projections 52 and 53secured thereto adjacent the extremities of the lateral extension 45 and 46, while the second elongated connecting member 42 has grommeted apertures54 and 55 adjacent-the extremities of the lateral extensions 47 and 48 which define sockets dimensioned to receive the locking cones 52 and 53. The

cones 52 and '53 have transverse apertures or bores adjacent the ends thereof into and through which latch pins 56; and 57 may be inserted. It is to the noted that the V U-shaped channel members '50- and 51 complement each ture is inflated, it is held againstthe ground by the internal pressure and seals the structure against any appreciable loss of air along the ground line.

The air required to erect the buildingstructure 20 and V maintain the same erected is furnished by'a power driven v blower 38 of suitable. capacity having a flexible discharge I conduit 39 communicating with the interior bfithe blllld ing structure. The capacity of the blower will vary with the size of the building structure but should be sufficient to maintain the structure erect and able to withstandrwind, rain and snow. Itis desirable to provide a flapvalve (not shown) to prevent back flow of air to the blower nom'.

the building structure should theblower shut oif.

other and grip between the facesof their opposed arms 7 tensions to, springapart disengagingthe cone projection from the grommetedaperture and relaxing the grip of the U-shaped .channelmembers on the stringers. Either pin 56 'or 57 may be withdrawn by means of lanyards 58 and 59 which vare fastened at one end to the pins and pass outwardly from within the air inflated structure through grommeted openings 62 and 63 located respectively in panels 27 and 28 and extend laterally down both sides of the inflated structure as shown in FIGURE 1. The ends of the lanyards are readily accessible to an operator standing on the ground at either side of the inflated structure.

As already indicated, the air supported structure of the present invention was orginally designed to house the Nikedlercules missile when the latter is in a lowered or inoperative position on a launching stand, and, therefore, is required to be quickly strikable so that the missile could be made operational in a minimum of time. By virtue of the quickly releasable connection between the two half sections 23 and 24 provided by the quick release mechanism 40 and the quickly releasable slide fastener 30 and the fact that a pressure differential is constantly maintained in the erected envelope 20, the latter may be substantially instantaneously struck. This is accom plished by pulling either lanyards 53 or 59 so as to withdraw holding pin 56 or 57 of the quick release mechanism 40. As a result the connecting members 41 and 42 spring apart releasing the grip on the stringers 31 and 32 in the area of the non-interlocked scoops. Since the pressure in the compartment 20 exceeds atmospheric pressure while the compartment is erected, the walls of the half sections 23 and 24 as well as the slide fastener 30 connecting these sections are constantly under tension. The tension thus generated causes the complementary stringers to uncouple substantially instantaneously throughout their length in response to release of the restraint on the noninterlocked area of the stringers. This results in a sudden rush of air from the envelope 20 along the line of separation and this sudden outward rush of air tends to push the collapsing walls of the half sections 23 and 24 outwardly of the line of separation as shown in FIGURE 3 so that they normally fall clear of the ground area covered by the envelope 2% Thus the need for clearing the area covered by the compartment from the falling half sections is eliminated, and the missile he may be raised to firing position almost immediately. While manually operated lanyards have been disclosed herein for releasing the quick release device 49, it will be understood that other means may be employed to release the device such as solenoids.

The assembly and erection of the collapsed building structure of the present invention takes place in several steps. First, the two panels 27 and 28 are detached from their respective side wall sections 25 and 25 by releasing the fastening means, that releasably secure them along lines 36 and 37. The two panels are positioned side by side on the ground or any suitable flat surface and complementary stringers 31 and 32 are joined by means of the manually operated slider 35 in the manner shown in FIGURE 4. The stringers 31 and 32 are locked together save in that region shown in FIGURE 6. This technique substantially eliminates damage to the slide fastener resulting from awkward and difficult closing procedures previously followed.

The non-interlocked portion of the stringers are held together by means of the quick release mechanism 49 shown in FIGURE 7. The elongated connecting member 41 is placed over the exterior surface of the two panels 27 and 28 while connecting member 4-2 is placed beneath the panels in opposing relationship. Cone-shaped projections 52 and 53 are inserted through grommeted apertures 6t and 61 located respectively in panels 27' and 28 and the lateral extremities of the connecting members 41 and 42 are forced together until the tips of the cone projections pass through the grommeted apertures 54 and 55 of the lower connecting member 42. In this position it is possible to insert pins 56 and 57 in the apertures of the cone members as shown in FIGURE 7 holding the opposed lateral extremities in close relationship under tension. It is noted that when the opposed lateral extremities are thus held under tension, the lowermost surfaces of the U-shaped channel bodies 59 and 51 grip the fabric tightly on either side of the stringers. Lanyards 58 and 6 59 attached to pins 56 and 57 are led through openings 62 and 63 to the exterior of the wall fabric.

Having joined the panels 27 and 28 together by means of the quick release slide fastener 30, the next step in the procedure is to wind the panels about the roller assembly shown in FIGURE 5. This assembly consists of a hollow tubing 70 freely revolvable about a shaft '71 having at either end thereof elongate handles '73. The shaft 71 is revolvable within the head '74 of the handles '73. One end of the joined panels 27 and 28 is wrapped around the tubing 7% which is then rolled lengthwise of the panels so as to completely wind the panels around the tithing.

The roller assembly with the wound panels 27 and 28 is carried to a position adjacent the end of the building structure. The end of the panels is placed between the side walls 25 and 26 at one end of the structure and held in place by joining the edges of panels 27 and 23 to the edges of side walls 25 and 25 respectively for at least a short distance along their length. The roller assembly is then raised over the missile as shown in FIGURE 8 and carried above the missile along its length by two operators walking along either side of the missile and holding the roller assembly aloft by means of the handles 73. It is to be noted that the handles should 'be long enough so that the rolled panels can easily clear the missile when held by operators walking on the ground and the shaft '71 must be wide enough so as to permit operators to walk on either side of the missile. Either concurrent with the unwinding of the panels over the missile or subsequent to such action the remaining unfastened edges of panels 27 and 28 are fastened to the free edges of the side wall sections 2e: and 25 along lines 35 and 37 thereby completing the assembly of the flexible building structure.

To inflate a structure of size sufficient to house the Nike-Hercules missile and to maintain the same erected, a high volume centrifugal blower preferably is used having a flow rate approximating 6,000 cubic feet per minute free delivery. This is sufiicient not only to erect the structure in two or three minutes time and maintain the same erected in wind up to miles per hour but also to compensate for leakage and venting of approximately 3,000 cubic feet per minute.

While the structure has been described as a housing for missiles, it will be understood that the principles of the invent-ion may be applied to structures designed for other purposes where easy erection and quick strikability are desirable. For example, structures of this type could be used over construction sites.

The quickly :strikable air-erected and supported structure of the present invention is particularly advantageous in that it permits the complementary stringers of the quick release slide fastener to be joined together in a manner that is not likely to damage the fastener. The nature of slide fasteners employed in large structures such as contemplated by this invention is such that the force required to draw the manual slider can easily deform the metal scoops and jam the fastener if the stringers are even slightly twisted or wrinkled or not held closely together. The attachment of the complementary stringers to removable central panels permits the stringers to be placed side by side on a flat surface so that the manually operated slider may be easily and smoothly drawn along the length of the stringers.

In the event of fastener damage, the present invention offers an additional advantage in that it is a simple matter to restore the building structure to operation by replacing both central panels carrying the damaged fastener with a spare pair of central panels having an operable fastener. The time required to change the panels is only a fraction of that required to replace the fastener itself.

A further advantage is that the complete assembly of the quickly strikable air-erected and supported building structure of this invention is possible by operators who 7 V V remain on the ground level of said structure. The removable central panel-s after being joined together and rolled about the roller assembly are then unrolled along the length of the missile and draped over the missile. The use of central panels of sufiicient width so that the free edges of the draped panels may be reached by an operator on the ground level makes it relatively simple to connect the edges of the central panels to the edges of the side walls and eliminates the potential hazards involved in climbing over the missileor in the use of temporary scaffolding.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that variations and modifications thereof may be made without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. It is desired, therefore, by the following claims, to include within the scope of the invention, all such variations and modifications by which substantially the results of the invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

I claim: i

'1. A method of assembling and erecting an air erected and supported building structure over an object to be housed therein, said structure being quickly separable into two sections along a first line that extends between points substantially in the uppermost-and lowermost regions of the structure by means of a quick release fastener, each of said sections being further separable into a lower side wall and an upper panel along a line spaced from said first i 8 two upper panels to the opposed marginal edges of the lower side walls, and inflating the assembled structure by means of airdelivered to the interior thereof vunder pressure. a r

2. A method of assembling and erecting an air erected and supported building structure over an object to be housed therein, said structure being quickly separable into two sections along a first line that extends between points substantially in the uppermost and lowermost regions of the structure and substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis thereof by means of a quick release fastener, each of said sectionsbeing furtherseparable' into a lower side Wall and an upper panel along a line spaced from said first line which method comprises, positionally anchoring the lower sidewalls, joining the two upper panels along said first line by means of said quick release fastener, rolling the two joined panels lengthwise about a roller, anchoring one end ofthe joined panels to one end of the structure, lifting the roller over the housed object and carrying the roller the length of the object causing the panels to unroll and drape over the object; joining the marginal edges of the upper panels to the edges of the lower side wall, and introducing air under pressure to the interior of the assembled structure inflating the same.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,830,349 4/58 Van Amburg ,24205.11 2,939,467 6/ Meyer et al. -1 3,150,670 9/64 Bird et al. 135l HARRISON MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. CHARLES E; .OCONNELL, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,190,299 June 22, 1965 Allen M, Moody It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 7, line 29, for "portionally" read positionally Signed and sealed this 15th day of February 1966.

I Atteat:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER testing Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A METHOD OF ASSEMBLING AND ERECTING AN AIR ERECTED AND SUPPORTED BUILDING STRUCTURE OVER AN OBJECT TO BE HOUSED THEREIN, SAID STRUCTURE BEING QUICKLY SEPARABLE INTO TWO SECTIONS ALONG A FIRST LINE THAT EXTENDS BETWEEN POINTS SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE UPPERMOST AND LOWERMOST REGION OF THE STRUCTURE BY MEANS OF QUICK RELEASE FASTENER, EACH OF SAID SECTIONS BEING FURTHER SEPARABLE INTO A LOWER SIDE WALL AND AN UPPER PANEL ALONG A LINE SPACED FROM SAID FIRST LINE WHICH METHOD COMPRISES, PORTIONALLY ANCHORING THE LOWER SIDE WALLS, JOINING THE TWO UPPER PANELS ALONG SAID FIRST LINE BY MEANS OF SAID QUICK RELEASE FASTENER, POSITIONING THE JOINED UPPER PANELS OVER THE OBJECT TO BE HOUSED WITHIN SAID STRUCTURE, CONNECTING THE MARGINAL EDGES OF THE TWO UPPER PANELS TO THE OPPOSED MARGINAL EDGES OF THE LOWER SIDE WALLS, AND INFLATING THE ASSEMBLED STRUCTURE BY MEANS OF AIR DELIVERED TO THE INTERIOR THEREOF UNDER PRESSURE. 